You know, there are plenty of so-called "patriotic" influencers on the Chinese innernet who eagerly flatter the government, selling their souls. But they usually do it in a more subtle and calculated way. I've never heard of anyone outright worshipping Xi as a king or suggesting that his birthday should become a national holiday.

In contrast, the decline of America feels both faster and more destructive—after all, China mostly harms its own people, while the U.S. brings chaos on a much larger scale.